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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · wind · mark · ground · mine · field · squash · chest

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. rule — a law
  10. field — a subject
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chest — a box
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ground — a position
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ground — the earth
  19. squash — to crush
  20. ground — crushed
  21. field — farmland
  22. rule — government
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com